


Unavailable

by Lancelot50020



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Domestic Violence, Drug Addiction, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-09-23 00:24:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20330995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lancelot50020/pseuds/Lancelot50020
Summary: After years of fighting hard for it, you thought you had finally achieved it: a normal life. Everything felt stable again and you told yourself it was a good thing, but it didn’t matter what you thought about because it changed rather quickly when a cell phone appeared on your doorstep. Who would have thought that a simple phone would lead you to question everything from the people it lead you to as well as your own fiancé.





	1. Chapter I: A Different Kind of Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU of an OC that I created. I originally had the intention of this story being more of a MC insert but as I wrote more and more, I gave the MC her own personality and quite a strange backstory. If you still wish to use this story as a self insert, you can replace Boyoung’s name with your own.

Your sneakers squeaked as you walked up to your apartment. You didn’t bother looking up from your bag as you fish for your keys. Your hand groped around your books searching for the soft jingle of your keys. As you felt the cold metal ring on your knuckle you quickly grasped them. As you started to pull them out you were pushed back almost knocking your keys on to the ground. You looked up quickly to see a man dressed in all back with a face mask and baseball cap blocking most of his face. He didn’t bother to apologize and kept walking.

“Jerk..” you whispered to yourself, silently knowing that you weren’t paying attention either.

You fanned out your keys in your palm to pick out the key to the apartment. You looked up and rushed over to your door and just as you picked up the right key your eyes locked on the small brown package at your door. You picked it up, thinking it was some online order you forgot about. You used one of the keys to tear open the package. It was a phone. You squinted at it slightly as if you expected it to tell you why it was here. You turned it on and leaned against the wall next to the door, suddenly interested in why it was here.

  
The phone chimed sweetly before it showed a home screen for a moment, but it changed before you could test the UI. It opened some chat service.

**Unknown:**  
Can you see this?

You responded to the message. This unknown person claimed that the phone was theirs and they were currently abroad and lost it sometime at the airport. You had said that it didn’t make sense as to why the phone would be at your apartment. The unknown person gave the excuse that the first person that found it mailed it to the wrong address and it would nice if you could go to their apartment and just drop the phone off there. You reluctantly agreed, mostly because you were just going to sit at home and work all day.

Unknown’s apartment was on a street a letter off from yours. The apartment number was the same, so Unknown’s story seemed to check out pretty well and this Unknown even knew the correct keypad code. You started to get a bit nervous when they suggested that you place the phone inside on the kitchen counter so it wouldn’t get stolen until they re-entered the country. It seemed to make enough sense so you entered the code and quickly slipped off your shoes as the door closed behind you.

As soon as the door closed behind you, you felt the phone in buzz in your hand. By the time you were able to look at the phone, you could see a few new texts from Unknown until the screen went black. You hit the back of it, thinking that the battery shifted. After a moment the screen changed again. The background changed and new profiles flooded the screen, carrying on the conversation as if you weren’t even there.

**Boyoung has entered the chatroom**

**Yoosung ★**: failed my midterms fml T_T

**707:** cuz u played LOLOL all night lol

You placed your shoes on the floor of the entrance as you read the messages. You didn’t look up from the phone as you walked toward the kitchen area.

**707:** Wait!!

**Yoosung ★:** Why?

**ZEN:** ??

**707:** I think someone entered the chat room;;

You paused for a moment. You thought that maybe you could only see the messages but not interact with them. You set your bag down for a moment. Something wasn’t right. You scrolled to the top of the chatroom and saw that it said your name. Not whatever unknown’s name was but yours. There was the coincidence that you shared the same name but that would be too many things that you could sensibly call a coincidence. You scrolled back down and replied to them as they freaked out about your presence.

**Boyoung:** Hello..

**Yoosung ★:** Gahhhh it’s talking!!

You briefly explained your situation and the man that was called 707 claimed that he traced your IP address to their former member’s apartment. After just replying to a few messages, you felt yourself become immersed in the conversation as if you were all talking to each other at a long table. They explained their organization, which they called the RFA and what it did and how it operated. Even why it had ceased operations for the past 2 years.

**Boyoung:** So the former member’s apartment that I’m in is…

**707:** ya..  
It’s Rika’s…

**Jumin Han:** How is this possible? V has not even been there since her death

**Yoosung ★:** How do you even know it’s her apartment?  
I don’t even know the address to it

**707:** Rika had me set up a special security system there  
I know her address  
I’m calling V

**Jumin Han:** Good. Assistant Kang

**Jaehee Kang:** Yes Mr. Han?

**Jumin Han:** See if we have any information on Miss Boyoung

**Jaehee Kang:** I actually already found something..

**Jumin Han:** What did you find?

**ZEN:** Wait!!  
Isn’t that an invasion of her privacy?

**Jumin Han**: Tracing her IP address was an invasion of her privacy  
Her being here is an invasion of _our_ privacy

**707:** I didn’t mean to offend you, pretty lady!!!

**ZEN:** PRETTY????  
Send a photo!!!

**Boyoung:** It’s alright Zen, I understand  
Even I’d be a bit apprehensive if some random girl entered my private chat room

**Yoosung ★:** She’s so kind…

**Jumin Han:** She’s logical

**Jaehee Kang:** Mr. Han

**Jumin Han:** Hm?

**Jaehee Kang:** She’s an emergency contact for one of our employees

**ZEN:** She has a sister??!!

**Yoosung ★:**

**Boyoung:** No my sister died when I was young

**Yoosung ★:**   
I’m so sorry

**ZEN:** Me too…  
Should I send a selfie to cheer you up?

**Jaehee Kang:** Please do

You laughed to yourself at their strange dynamic. You hadn’t even noticed that you’d been sitting on the floor messaging them for so long.

**Boyoung:** lolol it’s fine. It was over 10 years ago, I’ve made my peace with it

**Yoosung ★:** You’re so strong Boyoung!

I still can’t believe that Rika is gone..

**Boyoung:** It wasn’t easy but I figured I’d have to accept it at some point

**Jumin Han:** Then why are you listed as an emergency contact?

**ZEN:** Jerk! She was just talking about her dead sister give her moment!  
Seriously…

**Yoosung ★:** Maybe her parents work there..?

**Jumin Han:** The only one there that has children old enough to be our age is my father  
I’m fairly sure that he doesn’t have any children that work at C&R other than me

**Boyoung:** Wait..you work for C&R?

**707:** Jumin is a director and Jaehee is his assistant  
V isn’t answering

**Jumin Han:** Keep trying

**Boyoung:** If it’s C&R, my fiance works there

**ZEN:**   
She’s nice  
She’s understanding  
She’s pretty  
Why didn’t I think she was taken????

**Yoosung ★:** I think it’s nice that she found someone...  
But I didn’t think she’d be in a relationship either

You glance away from the chatroom and look at your engagement ring. Your friend said that it was plain and cheap looking. It was a simple thick silver band with a simple engravement on the inside, “Made out of Minkyu’s love.” You laughed slightly when you thought of how he proposed to you. You remember being at breakfast in a random restaurant when he slid the open box next to your plate of eggs.

  
“Marry me?” he asked before he took a large gulp of coffee. It was an old habit of his, hiding his mouth when he was nervous.

You remember pulling your own box out of your bag and slid it next to one of the many empty coffee mugs next to him, “you stole my idea.”

You both laughed and put the rings on. Your ‘proposals’ represented your relationship perfectly. It was honest, unconventional, and something that only the two of you understood. You both joked that you were slowly morphing into each other’s twin, starting with your personalities.

You brought your attention back to the chatroom.

**Jaehee Kang:** That explains the difference in last name…

**Jumin Han:** Is Boyoung engaged to my father?

**ZEN:**   
Why would you think that a pretty young girl like Boyoung would want anything to do with your family?

**Jumin Han:** We don’t know what kind of person she is and we don’t know what kind of things she’d likely do

**Jaehee Kang:**  
Mr. Han with all due respect… I doubt that Boyoung has even met Mr. Chairman, let alone considered marrying him

**Boyoung:** No, I’ve actually met Mr. Han before  
But no, I’m not engaged to him  
He tried to recruit me when he saw my work but I refused

**Jumin Han:** That is certainly a relief  
Why did you refuse the position?  
Surely you must know that C&R is quite a reputable company

**707:** You coulda been making bank!!

**B****oyoung:** Exactly

**Yoosung ★: **  
I don’t get it

**Boyoung:** Mr. Han was only cared that I was making less than what I could make at C&R  
He thought that by just doubling my salary he’d get me to resign

**Jaehee Kang:** I can kind of understand your reasoning but ...I don’t quite understand…

**ZEN:** You felt he was doubting your loyalty?

**B****oyoung:** Yes, but also I felt that he judged my character too quickly

**ZEN:**   
I’m here for you babe <3

**707:** Zen how dare you! She’s spoken for!

**ZEN: **  
Right….

**Boyoung:** lol it’s fine. I have a feeling that Zen is just overly flirty

After some more chatting and getting to know each other. Seven finally reached V. He explained how he thought it would be better for you to simply join the organization rather than asking you to forget the past 2 hours that you’d been texting with them. You and Seven gave Jaehee all your information to register you as a full member of the RFA. Zen and Yoosung worried about your job and handling the RFA work on top of it, but you quickly dismissed it because of your light workload.

  
“It’s just sending emails back and forth, how hard could it be?” you thought to yourself.

  
Seven explained that he’d like to install the messenger app on your phone and study the one that you were supposed to leave in the apartment. He also explained that even though Rika’s security system didn’t go off, it might when you left, so it would be better to stay there for a while until he sorted it out.

**Boyoung:** That’s going to be a bit of a problem Seven…

**707:**   
Why?

**Boyoung:** My fiance might be worried if I’m not home after a week or so

**ZEN:** A WEEK?

He should be worried after one night!

**Boyoung:** I tend to forget to tell him when I stay over at a friend’s house  
It’s fine

**707:** Hmmmmm….  
Hmmmmmmmmm  
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…

Got it!!  
I can get the phone from the apartment and set up the messenger while I’m there  
And…..  
FREE YOU FROM YOUR CAGE

**Jaehee Kang:**

**Boyoung:** Okay, I’ll tell my fiance I might not be home tonight

**707:** kay! I gotta finish my work if I’m going to be over there  
Bye!

**707 has left the chat room**

**Yoosung ★:** I better go too...I have university tomorrow..  
I need to finish this quest before 3 AM!!

**Yoosung has left the chat room**

**Jaehee Kang:** I should go too. You as well Mr. Han. We have to head into the office tomorrow

**Jumin Han:** I suppose you are right  
It was a pleasure to meet you Boyoung

**Jumin Han has left the chat room**

**Jaehee Kang has left the chat room**

**ZEN:**   
Was Jumin actually nice to Boyoung just now??  
That jerk must be drunk on wine  
Wait…..  
Is Seven coming to Rika’s apartment tonight or tomorrow?  
If he’s coming tonight don’t hesitate to call me Boyoung!  
Seriously! All men are wolves!!  
Damn, my director is calling me..  
Remember! Seven may seem like a nice guy but no one knows what might happen!  
Gtg, remember my face if you get lonely

**ZEN has left the chat room**


	2. Chapter II: Collapse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven shows up to the house and we meet the infamous fiancé

As you exited out of the chatroom a sea of private message notifications filled your screen. Zen talked about himself and how he was worried about you and Seven. Jaehee also commented on the strange way Jumin was acting. Yoosung simply welcomed you and made sure you didn’t feel too overwhelmed. Seven mentioned finishing his work around midnight and he’d be right over as soon as he finished and to make yourself comfortable in the apartment but to “absolutely not, never, never, go into Rika’s study!” You promised not to, you didn’t think that Seven would be the type of person to put you in any danger.

  
You pulled your own phone from your bag on the counter and quickly texted Minkyu that you wouldn’t be home for a day or so. He immediately responded with an okay and told you to sleep well. You smiled to yourself, “I really did get one of the good ones”

  
You checked the time on your phone, it was almost 9 PM now. Time just slipped through your fingers in the chatroom. You opened your bag and pulled out your tablet and laptop to begin your work. It wasn’t long before your boss emailed you to get off of the company server for maintenance. You glanced at the clock, it was closer to 11 now but you still had some time before Seven would show up.

  
You checked a few of the cabinets to see if there were any canned foods that you could eat for dinner. With no luck, you dug through your bag and found a cup of noodles that Minkyu always threw in your bag just in case you forgot your lunch. As you turned on the kettle you thought about what Zen said.

  
It wasn’t that Minkyu didn’t bother to know where you were, it was more that he trusted you to be safe. You had known each other since elementary school and started dating in the middle of your first year of high school. You bought an apartment together soon after you both finished college. In your long relationship together, you had never broken up, nor have either of you ever thought about it. You knew each other’s stances on everything from politics to the toppings on the pizza you ordered.

  
Because you both had been dating for so long, many people couldn’t really tell. The ‘I’m in a relationship’ act just seemed to be so ingrained in you both that many people ignored it. You were commonly mistaken for family so it never bothered either one of you when one would be flirted with. You both agreed that as long that the other person understood that you were taken, it was fine. Even then, Zen continued to flirt with you after you said you were engaged. You convinced yourself it was nothing to worry about and told yourself that you’d ask Seven if it was okay to let Minkyu in on a few things.

  
As if reading your thoughts, the doorbell rang. You checked the time on your phone 11:17 PM, it read. You opened the door and saw the red-headed man from the profile picture. He seemed more lean than slender as he stood in front of you, wearing the jacket that was at least 2 sizes too big.

  
“Please tell me that you are Boyoung, otherwise we have an entirely new problem on our hands,” he said with a deadly serious look on his face.

  
“Actually...I’m Youngbo,” You said equally serious.

  
You stared at each other with blank faces and refused to break eye contact. That was until Seven caved and started bursting out laughing.

  
“Okay, okay! You’re the master of poker face!” he said laughing. “May I enter, o great one?” he bowed.

  
“You may,” you said stepping to the side to let him inside. You chuckled to yourself as he slipped off his shoes.

  
“So where is this mysterious phone?” he asked, his face flushed slightly, realizing how close you both were in the cramped entry.

  
Neither one of you chose to acknowledge it, “they’re both at the table” Seven quickly moved from the entry towards the small table that you had your work set up.

  
You followed him over and watched him as he silently picked up both phones and frantically tapped the screens. After a minute or two, he set them both down and mumbled something before taking over your laptop. You didn’t mind and just simply walked over and quietly looked over his shoulder and watched him type in the script that you couldn’t remember how to understand.

  
“It’s been so long since I’ve even thought about coding,” you said, noticing him jump a bit at your voice from behind him.

  
“You used to hack?” he asked, his keystrokes slowing slightly.

  
“No,” you pulled a bit of hair behind your ear as you leaned in closer to the screen, “I really wanted to make my own game and I started from the bare lines of code to work my way up.”

  
You saw him tense and his ears turn as red as his ear, “You should tell Yoosung about that, he’s so game obsessed. I wouldn’t be surprised if after college he became a full-fledged shut-in.”

  
You laughed slightly, feeling your breath ricochet off of his ear and neck, “People used to say the same thing about me when I was younger,” you pressed your lips together, remembering how hurtful the words were back then, “yeah...those people can go to hell.”

  
He dramatically pressed his pinky on the enter key and let the code run. As it processed he gave a shaky laugh and cleared his throat, “I didn’t take you to be the vengeful type.” He turned his head towards you and you felt his breath on your lips, his face reddened as he glanced at your lips before he locked eyes with you.

  
You could see his yellow eyes shaking as held eye contact. You placed a hand on the table for balance, “what can I say? I’m full of surprises,” you whispered, somewhat ashamed of your past.  
You looked down at your bare feet, thinking of all the things that you’d done since your sister’s death. “What would she think if she saw you now?” you thought, feeling more emotional with each passing second. You felt your nose touch Seven’s at the same moment your laptop beeped. You looked up to see Seven less than an inch from you.

  
“What did you do?” you asked, unsure if you meant his closeness or the computer.

  
He cleared his throat and turned back to the computer after lingering near you for a little too long, “I needed to access the security system and I rushed out of the house so fast I forgot my laptop,” he said focusing on the laptop.

  
“Do you still need my phone?” you asked, straightening your back.

  
“No, I installed the messenger on your phone,” he said, not looking up from the screen.

  
You walked to the other side of the table and picked up your phone. Sure enough there it was the same mysterious messenger that now seemed familiar and comforting. You sat on the table and twiddled your thumbs as you waited patiently for Seven to finish typing. As you were in the middle of humming a song that had suddenly entered your mind, you heard him sigh. You looked over at him, he stood and stretched his arms up, letting his shirt raise, exposing the hem of his boxers and his toned stomach.

  
“Finished?” you asked, biting down on your lip as a way of scolding yourself for so shamelessly checking him out.

  
“Yeah,” he groaned, cracking his back. “Damn that chair is uncomfortable.”

  
You smiled, “So I can leave without the system going off?”

  
“Yeah,” he said before checking the clock on the wall, “I wouldn’t go home right now, it’s pretty late.”

  
“I take it that I can’t call Minkyu to pick me up,” you said sliding off the table.

  
“Not if you tell him that this is Rika’s apartment and about the RFA.” Seven pocketed the phone. “I could give you a ride home if you really don’t want to stay here,” he gripped the back of his neck as he spoke.

  
“I’d appreciate it. No offense to Rika and the RFA, but it’s creepy staying in a dead girl’s apartment.” He laughed at that.

  
“No, I get it. You should text him and tell him that someone’s dropping you off,” Seven said, patting his pockets until he found his keys.

  
As both left the apartment and walked down to the elevators, you asked the question that had been bouncing around in your head. “I assume that you knew that I was Minkyu’s emergency contact.”

  
He nodded, keeping his eyes straight. “I also assume that you knew that we were living together,” you added. He nodded again.

  
“Did you assume that we were engaged since he was listed as unmarried?” you asked.

He shook his head, “I assumed you were family. I didn’t know until you engaged until you said so in the chat.”

  
“Is that why you seemed as if you were going to kiss me earlier?” you asked, just as the elevator doors opened. Seven stepped out first, not waiting for you to catch up. He silently walked towards a red expensive-looking car and popped the locks.

  
You both climbed inside and Seven started the car, still refusing to answer your question. The dome lights showed his face, he looked sad and guilty.

  
“I won’t hold it against you Seven, neither will Minkyu,” you said as he pulled onto the main road. “I just want to make sure I wasn’t misreading the situation.”

  
“What difference does it make?” he said finally. “It’s not as if it will affect your engagement.” He took a deep breath, “yes, I was going to kiss you. Jumin has me do a background check on all of his new employees, when I saw you as Minkyu’s emergency contact, I did a bit of research on you. It was standard at first but…” he tightened his hands around the steering wheel, “after the first few hours of researching you, I realized that I had gone beyond the normal amount of research.”

  
“What’d you find?” You asked, suddenly afraid of his answer.

  
“Other than a few articles about your sister’s death; not much from the past few years,” he said.

  
“There’s no way that that was all you found,” the venom in your voice surprised you, but your fear kept you from apologising.

  
“I thought that if it was that hard to find information about you, you didn’t want anyone to know about it,” he said clenching his jaw as he turned the car.

  
You dug your nails into your palms, “You’re right, I don’t.” You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, “if there’s something that you need to know, I’ll tell you.”

  
“I know,” he said as the car stopped. You had finally reached your apartment.

  
“I can’t keep this a secret from him,” you said in a purposely vague way.

  
“I’m not asking you to,” he said suddenly gripping your hand, “I’m not saying that I want you to return my feelings, I’m being honest with you.”

  
You smiled, “thank you.” You turned to open the door but Seven tightened his hand around your fingers.

  
“But… remember I’m here for you, no matter what it is okay?” he pleaded. You smiled at him sadly and patted his hand as you thanked him again.

  
You pulled on the handle and climbed out of the car. After closing the door behind you, you didn’t dare look back. As you climbed the steps to your floor, you couldn’t help but think how strange it was that he was somehow able to develop feelings for you by only reading the things he could find on the internet. You supposed you should be creeped out especially when you thought about how he could have watched you through CCTV cameras. However, it didn’t bother you too much. What bothered you more was the articles he’d read on your sister’s death. You could almost feel the cup of noodles you ate rise in your throat.

  
When you reached the apartment you simply knocked on the door, knowing that Minkyu would still be awake. Soon after you knocked he opened the door. His dark hair absorbing the warm light from the apartment. He didn’t even bother to put on regular pants to open the door, he greeted you in light grey boxers and a white tank top.

  
“Boyoung?” he asked before you let your upper body collapse on to him. He didn’t even shift under your weight.

  
“Fuck,” you said burying your face in the crook of his neck.

  
He didn’t say a word as he wrapped his arms around your waist and carried you into the apartment. You pulled your legs up to make it easier for him to carry you into bed. He knew you didn’t want to do anything but sleep right now and wanted to help you in any way he could. As he stepped out of the entryway, he crossed the living room to your shared bedroom and gently placed you on the bed. Once you were set on the bed he took off your shoes and let you relax your legs on the bed. He then took your work bag and set it on the floor beside the bed.

  
“Do you want to change?” He asked, unhooking your bra, knowing you hated sleeping in it.

  
“Yeah…” you said feeling slightly guilty, “when are you coming to bed?”

  
He went to the set of drawers and pulled out one of his old shirts, “I just finished brushing my teeth, so now.” He began pulling down your pants and then proceeded to lift up your shirt. Neither one of you got embarrassed at the sight of your bare chest anymore. “Why do you ask?” he pulled the large shirt over your head.

  
You pushed your arms through the sleeves, “I just want to hold you for a while”

  
“Alright,” he said, pulling the covers over your legs. He walked to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to you. “Wake me up when you want to talk,” he whispered and kissed your forehead.

  
“I know,” you said, snuggling against him. “I love you Minkyu.”

  
“I love you too Boyoung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is my first story and I have absolutely no clue how to use the works settings and stuff on here. Bear with me as I struggle through this.


	3. Chapter III: Online Strangers IRL

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's party time!

It didn’t take long for you to figure out how the email system worked. Everyone was able to suggest a lot of guests for the party, which was going to be held just 11 days after you joined. But, within all of the work and progress for the party, you were able to form strong bonds with each of the members. Neither you nor Seven thought it would be necessary to tell the other members about the night he picked up the phone. You did tell Minkyu who, admittedly was creeped out that some random guy had been stalking his fiance, who was then brought into a strange organization. However, you didn’t regret telling him about it. You told him about everything that went on in the RFA. Especially Zen’s flirty nature, Jumin’s caring yet cold personality, Yoosung’s boyish need to be more manly, Seven’s hilarity, and Jaehee’s driven mind. As the day of the party came you signed in to check on everyone.

**Boyoung has entered the chat room**

**Boyoung:** I hope you guys are ready for today!!

**707:** Hell yeah!!

It’s going to be great!!

**ZEN: **I can’t wait for you to see my beauty in person

**Yoosung ★:** I kinda want to see how pretty Boyoung is…

**Jumin Han:** You both keep forgetting that she’s engaged

Is your fiance coming to the party?

**ZEN: **If anything it’s weird how often you remind us

**Boyoung:** lol, it’s alright!

And yes, Minkyu and I will be there

He’s really excited to meet you all!

**Jaehee Kang:** You… talk about us..?

**Boyoung:** Of course!! You guys are like my best friends!

**Jumin Han: **lol

**Yoosung ★: **

Did Jumin..just LAUGH???

**Jaehee Kang:** Mr. Han are you unwell?

**Jumin Han:** I feel fine

I was just thinking of what Boyoung’s fiance thinks of Zen and Yoosung

**Yoosung ★:** Why didn’t I think of that…

Is Minkyu scary?

**ZEN:** Now that I think about it...

I’d want to kill anyone that dared to flirt with my fiance…

**Boyoung:** don’t worry about it! Lol

Minkyu already knows and he isn’t the type to get hung up on that stuff

**Jumin Han:** I personally find that very hard to believe

**Boyoung:** Why is that?

**Jumin Han:** I asked my father about you after you mentioned that you’d met

He gave your work and appearance very high praise

He also mentioned that the next day your fiance asked him to:

“Stay away from his partner” if he wanted to keep him as an employee

**ZEN: **

**Yoosung ★: **

**ZEN:** It was nice knowing you all…

**707:** I doubt that Minkyu is that type of person

**Jumin Han:** My father is a lot of things, but he’s not a liar

**Boyoung: **That sounds like something he’d do if he felt threatened

But trust me, he doesn’t feel threatened by any of you

**Jaehee Kang:** Boyoung...that’s a bit…

**Boyoung: **What?

**707 has left the chat room**

**Jumin Han has left the chat room**

**Jaehee Kang: **Well that was quite the opposite of what I expected

**ZEN:** You don’t think that the robotic Jumin Han actually…

**Boyoung: **Actually…?

**Yoosung ★: **

I don’t get it either..

**Jaehee Kang:** I’d better get ready before I end up running late

**Jaehee Kang has left the chat room**

**ZEN: **That wasn’t very subtle….

**ZEN has left the chat room**

**Boyoung:** Yoosung, are you understanding any of this?

**Yoosung ★:** No, but I am a bit sad…

I don’t think I would have minded

Your fiance feeling threatened

**Boyoung: **Huh? That doesn’t make much sense

**Yoosung ★ has left the chat room**

You stared at the screen in confusion. You assumed that they would find relief in Minkyu being understanding of their behavior. “Why did they seem so angry yet sad?” you thought. You lingered on the chatroom for a moment until you heard Minkyu calling your name to get ready. You quickly took a shower and began drying your hair. The dress that you and Minkyu had picked out was a black mid-thigh long sleeve dress with an open back that dared you to wear a bra. You knew that after trying it last night, the dress simply didn’t look as good with a bra. You adorned the dress with a silver necklace that had a long chain in the back to match your silver engagement ring as well as the tight silver hoop earrings you had for as long as you can remember. You pulled out a pair of 2-inch black heels to accompany the outfit. You decided to tie your hair into an elegant bun at the top of your head with your bangs and other strands curled to make it look put together. 

You walked out of the bedroom with your shoes in your hand and saw Minkyu struggling somewhat with his tie. He decided to do a light grey suit with a black button-up underneath, it was his attempt as an inverse of your outfit. He retied the tie for what looked like the millionth time before looking towards you with a helpless look on his face.

You chuckled to yourself before setting your shoes down in the entryway and walking back to tie it for him. “Tight or loose?” you asked.

“Tight, so I can loosen it as I need to,” he said as you finished the last pull. “Thanks.”

You handed him his jacket and he carefully pulled his arms into it. He was fully aware that he needed a new one, but he never wanted to deal with the hassle of it. The suit was barely a year old, the problem was that he started working out and the suit that was at one point perfect for his then lean body, was now noticeably too small for the muscular form he now had. You sighed at the suit.

“You really need a new one.” You passed him his dress shoes and he handed you the purse that you packed up last night along with your now fully charged phone. 

“I know, I know. But it’s too much effort and too expensive,” he whined, taking the shoes and grabbing his phone from the table.

You pulled the purse over your shoulder and began walking towards the door, Minkyu in toe. After putting on your shoes, you both walk out of the apartment and down the steps. Your neighbors giving you both interesting looks as you pass. Neither one of you were fans of attention, so when you reached the car, you both sighed in sync. 

“That was awful,” you said, wiping your palms across your face, thankful that you didn’t wear makeup. 

“Awful isn’t a strong enough word,” Minkyu said starting the car.

You laughed slightly, “god, how are we going to survive this party?”

“Beats me.” He turned onto the main road, making your heart race with anticipation.

“Well, I’m going to quietly panic until we get there, okay?” you said, reaching for his non-driving hand.

“I’ll let you know when we get there,” he said, his voice dripping with sincerity. He found your hand and squeezed it tightly.

You pulled his hand onto your thigh, letting his warmth calm you. You had your seat reclined back and rested your arm over your eyes and let the world speed by you as your heartbeat much faster inside your chest. Neither one of you liked crowds. Hell, you both even refrained from going to concerts because of the loud noise and many, many people. Even in university, you both would dance to your favorite music alone together despite the invitations that you received to parties.

You arrived at the location for the RFA party far too soon for your heart to stop pounding. 

“Here,” Minkyu said releasing your hand and patting your exposed thigh.

You groaned and let your seat up, “Maybe they won’t notice I’m not there..?”

He tsked you, “You know that they will.”

You stumbled over your words before you formed a proper sentence, “but-uh, they, they were acting weird earlier, maybe they don’t want to see me.”

He raised an eyebrow, putting the car in park, “what do you mean weird?”

“Well..” you started, “you don’t feel threatened by the RFA members do you?”

He blinked, “Should I feel threatened?”

You turned away from him and sighed before facing him again, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Then no, I don’t feel threatened.”

You smacked his arm in agreement, “thank you!”

His brow furrowed, “I don’t understand.”

“You’ll see when we get inside okay? Just ...yeah,” you said opening up the car door and climbing out.

Minkyu was a moment behind you, but he climbed out of the car nonetheless. You took his arm and interlaced your fingers together, hoping to draw strength from him. You both entered the building and were immediately met with the long line of guests. Despite the line’s length it seemed to be passing quickly and when you finally reached the front, Jaehee was there to greet you.

“Hello, are you on the guest list?” Jaehee asked, not looking up from her clipboard.

“Yes, Boyoung and Minkyu,” you said hoping that would get her to look up.

She furrowed her brows for a moment as if she forgot where you were from, she looked up at you and her eyes widened, “Boyoung?”

You smiled, “it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Jaehee!” You unhooked from Minkyu to open your arms for a hug. Jaehee hesitated slightly but embraced you. You couldn’t help but notice how cold her hands were as they held your bareback. As you pulled away you noticed a small blush on her face. “She probably thinks that the dress is too much,” you thought.

You cleared your throat, suddenly embarrassed, “Jaehee, this is Minkyu, my fiance.”

They shook hands and gave a proper greeting to each other. It was the first time in a long time that you had noticed Minkyu’s size. You had recognized that he was taller than you, but next to Jaehee, he seemed giant. You couldn’t help but think that it was because of his broad muscular shoulders that had already popped a few seams on the jacket and button-up he was wearing. 

“Boyoung told me that you do judo?” Minkyu asked, pulling you back to the conversation at hand.

“Yes, I have a black belt,” Jaehee said pulling her clipboard to her chest.

“So do I. I’ll have to spar you some time,” he said with a sweet smile.

Jaehee cleared her throat as she paled, “S-sure, sounds fine.”

Something told you that she misread the situation, so you thought it was best to just enter the venue and hope to meet up with the other members later. As you walked through the venue, you realized that you had invited everyone that the members had recommended. You dug your nails into Minkyu’s jacket sleeve as you secretly hoped that none of the guests wished to talk to the person that invited them. You quickly scanned the room for another member. You were able to spot Jumin surrounded by some guests, he looked deep in his element and he was surrounded by far too many people for you to simply walk up to him. Your eyes found Zen fairly soon after due to his long silver hair contrasting with the warm brown tones of the bar area. You tugged at Minkyu’s sleeve and you both strode over to Zen.

“I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself, Zen,” you said, spotting the beer on the counter as you neared him.

He turned to you and opened his mouth to speak, but it simply hung open as he checked you out. His eyes lingered on the hem of the dress only to stare back up at the neckline of the dress that didn’t even show your collarbone. He swallowed slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing as he looked you in the eye.

“I’m sorry, but are you a fan?” he asked drinking his beer.

You patted Minkyu on the arm, a subtle hint that you felt more comfortable now, “Kind of. It’s me, Boyoung,” you said as Minkyu released your hand.

Zen raised his eyebrows before facing the bar instead of you, “oh, um, hello.” He took a big gulp of beer before turning back to you. He opened his mouth to speak again but you enveloped him in a hug. You held him for a bit before he returned the hug and you felt his hot hands on your bareback. 

“I take it that you are Minkyu?” he asked as you pulled away.

“Yes I am,” Minkyu said, holding out a hand for Zen to shake. Before Zen could take his hand, a blonde boy suddenly wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Zen~,” the boy said, obviously drunk.

“Is this your boyfriend?” Minkyu asked in a serious tone, but you could see in his eyes that he was teasing.

“No!” Zen said before struggling to get the boy--that you could now guess was Yoosung, off of his back. You giggled at the scene and was thankful that your fears didn’t get the better of you.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” Minkyu whispered. He waited for your nod of acknowledgment before walking off to wherever he desired to go.

“Woah~,” Yoosung said, willingly climbing off of Zen. “You’re really pretty,” he said walking up to you. He was taller than you imagined, You thought that he’d be shorter, about your height, but he was an inch or two taller than you. Still nowhere close to the 4 or 5 inches taller than Zen was nor the 6 or 7 that Jumin seemed to be.

“Thanks, Yoosung. You look really pretty too,” you said tucking some of his blonde hair behind his ear. You couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t put in his clips today.

He gasped, “a pretty lady knows my name!”

Zen sighed, “Yoosung, that’s Boyoung.”

Yoosung shook his head, “No way. Boyoung has a super scary fiance that I need to run from.”

You laughed, “My fiance was just here Yoosung and he isn’t super scary.”

Yoosung stumbled on to you and drunkenly wrapped his arms around you, mumbling something about you. You laughed, already disregarding everything that he said. As he breathed on your neck you could smell the wine that he probably only had a few glasses of. You remembered Zen mentioning that Yoosung was an extreme light-weight.

As you patted his back you looked around the room. You could tell that Yoosung was drawing more attention to you than you wanted but as your hand ran in circles on his back you felt a sort of familiarity like you were holding someone you’d known for years. As you looked around you saw Minkyu now almost blending in perfectly with the crowd that surrounded Jumin. From behind the two almost looked like brothers, they had the same dark hair, same height, and even the same stoic stance. 

You could just barely make out their faces and they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation, despite the blank looks on their faces. You hoped that they got along, Jumin was already misunderstood by the RFA, you didn’t want for Minkyu to have the same opinion. It wasn’t until you heard Zen calling your name did you realize how long you had been staring at them.

“You okay babe?” Zen said the pet name was a habit that was so deeply ingrained in him that it didn’t seem like something you should be concerned about.

“Yeah, just lost in thought,” you said, releasing the blonde boy and letting him wander off into the crowd.

“Hey so..” Zen’s cheeks turned rosy, “how did you and Minkyu meet?”

You eyebrows raised slightly, Zen had always seemed to talk about anything but Minkyu. But you didn’t see any harm in it, so you hopped on to a barstool, “Ironically he was dating my sister at the time.” You could hear Zen choke slightly on the beer that he was in the middle of sipping. As he coughed a bit you ordered a club soda, hoping it could calm your nerves a bit.

Zen’s eyes widened, “Wow, that’s…”

You quickly put your hands up, “Wait, that sounds bad. I mean he was dating my sister is how we met, I didn’t start dating him until after...” You gulped and fought the urge to order a whiskey, “until after my sister died. We talked a lot after she died and we hung out almost every day. Eventually, our relationship changed but neither one of us ever really acknowledged it. One day we just started introducing each other as boyfriend and girlfriend.” You smiled at the old memories of Minkyu holding you as you cried in his bed. You siped from the awful club soda that you were already regretting ordering

“I’m sorry...I shouldn’t have asked,” Zen said, chugging the last of his beer.

“No, it’s fine. Some days are worse than others, but I’m relatively fine now,” you took another sip of the club soda and grimaced at the taste.

“Now? Did something happen in the--” Zen’s question was cut off by a hand at the small of your back.

You turned your head to see Minkyu and Jumin standing behind you, “Jumin, hello!” you exclaimed, quickly climbing off the chair and standing on your toes to wrap your arms around his neck in a hug. He seemed rigid at first, almost as if he wasn’t sure what to do with you clasped on to him. All his indecision did was make on hang on longer and tighter. You ended up hanging on to him for a good thirty seconds before he finally gave in and wrapped his arms around your waist. You were too tightly pressed against him for him to touch your back, but you could feel his long fingers on your hips.

Satisfied with the hug, you pulled away and beamed, “I’m glad to see you here. After what happened today, I was worried that you weren’t going to come.” You kept your hand lingering on his arm as if you were afraid that he was going to vanish into thin air.

“I couldn’t do that to you Boyoung,” he said, his voice just as smooth as it was on the phone.

You felt your cheeks warm slightly, “I’m glad to hear that!”

Jumin smiled at you and just as he opened his mouth to say something Minkyu beat him to it, “Are you having fun?”

You turned your attention to your fiance and jumped into his arms, “The best, bestest time!” 

You hang on Minkyu’s neck and your arms vibrated as he spoke, “did she have anything to drink?”

“No,” Zen said, “just club soda.”

“Ah that makes sense,” Minkyu said unwrapping your arms from him, “she gets jittery and clingy from carbonation.” You tugged on his jacket like an impatient child.

“No I don’t!” you said, irritated. You unwrapped your arms from his neck as if it was a form of punishment for assuming. “Whatever, have you seen Seven? I haven’t and I’m worried that he didn’t show up.”

“He’s the redhead right? I think I saw him and the blonde while I was talking with Jumin,” he said, not looking away from your eyes for even a moment.

“Really? I’m going to go bounty hunting, you stay here and play nice.” You smacked his chest, you knew it wasn’t hard enough to hurt him but enough to grab his attention.

He nodded and you scampered off in the direction you saw Yoosung go in about ten minutes ago. After a few minutes of searching, you realized that you should have asked how long ago Minkyu saw Seven. “He might be gone by now,” you thought to yourself. While one on one conversations with Seven only lasted about ten minutes over text, you hoped that another face to face conversation could smooth things over. 

As you turned the corner out of the main banquet hall, you felt a hand on your wrist. The person pulled you into a closet before you could see who they were. They closed the door behind you and press you up against it. They slammed their head on the door and rested it on your shoulder. 

“Seven?” you asked, it was a stupid hunch but everything about this guy seemed familiar.

He sighed, “Yeah, sorry,” Seven said not raising his head from your shoulders. “I’m sorry, but...you’re killing me Boyoung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm learning!!! I am slowly figuring things out on how to do things! If you have any tips for me feel free to leave a comment!


	4. Chapter IV: A Different Perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little peek inside of Minkyu's head

After talking with Jaehee, Minkyu could tell that coming to this party was going to be good for you. He watched your eyes as they scanned the room, looking for other members of the RFA to talk to. He caught you staring at Jumin and it caught him off guard. “He looks an awful lot like me,” Minkyu thought. He pondered walking up to him, but you were already pulling him in the direction of the bar.

“Why would she want to go to the bar  _ now _ , everything seems to be going fine?” he thought. He weighed the pros and cons for dragging you in the opposite direction until at least he saw what you were really after. Then he saw him, the white hair was so unmistakable that he was surprised that he didn’t see it before.

You and Minkyu walked up to the bar and Minkyu watched as you introduced yourself to Zen. Minkyu watched as the man’s red eyes trailed over your body, but didn’t bother to say anything. “Maybe I should try to appear jealous around them,” he thought to himself.

Minkyu didn’t really start paying attention until the blonde boy wrapped his arms around Zen’s neck. He gave himself an internal smirk, it would be a wasted opportunity if he didn’t mess with the actor a little bit.

“Is this your boyfriend?” he asked, somewhat proud of his sly remark.

After Zen’s blatant denial, he and the blonde continued to bicker, Minkyu took this as an opportunity to excuse himself and talk to Jumin. 

He had lied to you in the car. It didn’t matter that you told him about every conversation that you had with the RFA, more because they were your closest friends than concern for the stability of your relationship. Out of all of them, Minkyu was only concerned about two of them: Jumin Han and Seven. He was able to do research on Jumin, both online and hearing general gossip from his job. Seven...the man was a giant question mark. Nothing ever showed up when he researched anything on Luciel Choi, which you had found out was his ‘real’ name. Minkyu figured that he could get some information about Seven at the party but since he hadn’t seen him yet, his best bet was Jumin.

Minkyu began walking in a random direction behind you before abruptly changing directions to go straight to Jumin. Jumin was surrounded by some big wigs in fancy suits, Minkyu thought that the man looked miserable, but he could have just been projecting his own feelings onto him. Minkyu didn’t even bother to say “excuse me” as he cut through the crowd. 

He moved close to Jumin so fast that the man didn’t have time to pull back, “My name is Minkyu, I’d like to talk to you for a bit,” he whispered in Jumin’s ear.

Jumin’s face remained stoic, but Minkyu caught his eyes shake for a second, “Gentleman if you would excuse me for a moment.” Jumin lead Minkyu off to a corner of the banquet hall.

“May I ask what this is about?” Jumin asked, turning to face Minkyu.

“Boyoung. What else could it have been about?” Minkyu crossed his arms.

Jumin sighed, “Trust me, you must have me confused with someone else. I’ve never said anything inappropriate to your fiance,” he said. “You really want Zen or Yoosung, they’re the ones that have been flirting with her since she joined.” He went to walk past Minkyu, but he grabbed the man’s arm.

“You’re not wrong. But don’t mistake me for a fool Jumin Han,” Minkyu said, unintentionally tightening his grip on the man’s arm. 

“I don’t. We don’t hire fools at C&R,” he said. “But apparently we do hire brutes.” Minkyu begrudgingly let him go at the remark.

“You were upset that I didn’t see you as a threat, right?” Jumin’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

“I never--”

“You didn’t have to. I’m guessing that everyone else feels the same, but you and this ‘Seven’ in particular?” Minkyu said. Jumin’s eyes narrowed and Minkyu could feel the anger rolling off of him, “Don’t be upset because Boyoung is too dense to see your growing feelings and only has me to talk to about things.”

Jumin began to grind his jaw, “do you insult her like this frequently?”

Minkyu smirked, “If you’re calling that an insult then yes, I do. But you aren’t going to get her to leave me over it if that’s what you’re thinking.”

Jumin took a deep breath through his nose, “you’re a cocky bastard aren’t you?”

Minkyu laughed, “I suppose so, but that’d make you just some rich boy using your daddy’s money.” Minkyu took a step closer to him, “the truth is that I don’t care if you have feelings for Boyoung or not. You aren’t ruining this for me. She’d never let me not marry her.” Minkyu stepped back, “we should go see her, she wanted to meet all of the RFA members today.”

Minkyu spun around on his heel and cursed his irritability with each click of his shoes. He had always been easily irritated but the idea of not having Boyoung always set him off faster than anything could nowadays. You and Zen seemed to be having a serious conversation but that made it all the more important to interrupt it. Despite getting a bit of a head start, Jumin got to you just a few seconds sooner and placed a hand on your back. You only calmly turned around, probably assuming that Minkyu was the first to greet you. 

You excitedly embraced Jumin, hanging on his neck the same way that you did to Minkyu. Jumin was about to wrap his hands around your waist when he stole a glance at Minkyu. He shrugged nonchalantly, knowing his spot as fiance was secure. Jumin wrapped his arms around you and Minkyu could feel Zen’s eyes on him. 

The actor looked bewildered and enraged. He looked as if he expected Minkyu to rip the pair apart. Minkyu could just barely see the jealousy layered beneath his eyes. Minkyu would have laughed at the man’s expression if Boyoung wasn’t clearly different. You were being more clingy than usual, what had you talked about with Zen before Minkyu came over? Whatever it was, had clearly put you in a lonely mood, which means they were talking about her. 

Minkyu suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He knew that you would never bring her up intentionally which meant that Zen had. You always had trouble saying no to people. He didn’t bother to pull his hands out of his pockets to hug you. He knew that no amount of comforting would make you feel any better.

“Did she have anything to drink?” he asked, just to be sure he wouldn’t have to deal with it on the way home.

“No,” the white-haired man said, “just a club soda”

If looks could kill, Minkyu would have died the second he’d met Zen.

Minkyu decided to give some bullshit excuse as to why you were so clingy. He knew that you’d rather not pour out your entire life story to people. However, it seemed that the courtesy had gone right over your head and you pulled away from him in defiance.

“Whatever,” you said, a clear sign that you were going to forget the entire disagreement in a few minutes. “Have you seen Seven? I haven’t and I’m worried that he didn’t show up.”

Minkyu bit the inside of his cheek, he knew that if you hadn’t seen him then there was no way he was going to find him. He thought for a moment and figured it would be best to have the redhead find her.

“He’s the redhead right? I think I saw him and the blonde while I was talking with Jumin,” he lied.

He lost attention from you as he felt Jumin’s eyes on him. The business man’s face was hard to read but not impossible. Minkyu knew that he was trying to hide all traces of emotion but the man couldn’t seem to do it when he looked at you and Minkyu. Minkyu could see the pain in his eyes, the surprise, the anger. 

It only made Minkyu want to see what would happen when the man lost control.

But you happily scampered off, blissfully unaware of the mental contest the three men were having. Once you were out of earshot, Zen bared his fangs.

“Do you care about her?” he asked, living up to the irritating mantra that he always bombarded the chat with.

Minkyu raised an eyebrow, already amused. “What do you care?”

Almost immediately, Zen shot up from the barstool and grabbed him by the collar, “The hell did you say?” His red eyes were like fire and the sight of the man being so angry made Minkyu scoff.

Jumin’s long feminine fingers curled around Zen’s shoulder, “That’s enough.”

“You saw how he was treating her can you really just--!”

“If you hurt him what will she think of you?” Jumin asked, more to himself than Zen. The question worked nonetheless and Zen let him go.

Minkyu straightened his shirt and collar while laughing to himself.

“What’s so goddamn funny?” Jumin asked, his voice deeper than before.

“You. Him. The way you all could fall in love with someone so deeply without knowing the first thing about them. Let alone someone that you can never have.”

“You know what Jumin? I think I finally found someone that’s a bigger jerk than you are,” Zen said going back to bar.

Jumin followed him without saying another word. Minkyu smiled to himself. He truly didn’t care about what they thought of him. You and he had been together too long for you both to simply break up. He knew too much and he knew that you’d stay with him just so you could keep the only person that knew almost everything close to you.

Minkyu didn’t bother to look for you. Not yet at least. He hadn’t seen Jaehee since the entrance nor Yoosung at all. You didn’t mention V too often so he didn’t bother to introduce himself when he saw the blue-haired man he over to the seething Jumin. Minkyu scanned the gala to pick out the blonde hair and lavender eyed boy. Yoosung was the exact opposite of your type. You hated to have to take control all of the time, but you enjoyed doing it sometimes. It put Jumin and Yoosung in a strange grey area. From what you had told Minkyu, it seemed that he was a bit too controlling for your taste and Yoosung was a bit too passive. However, it wasn’t like the others were any better.

“Zen’s a bit of a flirt but he doesn’t seem to have much experience talking with a girl,” you had told him a few days before. “Jaehee is kind and understanding sometimes, but others she seems to seek out pity. Do you think that I’m reading her wrong?” You had said, taking a sip of the tea that was probably doing nothing for your energy level.

He shrugged, “maybe? I’ve never even had a conversation with them so I wouldn’t know.” He drunk some of his coffee purposefully holding it to his lips a little longer just to remind you of what you can’t have.

You pressed your lips together, maintaining composure ignorant as always to his subtle torture. “Hmm…” You thought for a moment. “What do you think of Seven?”

He paused for a moment, caught a bit off guard, “What do you mean?”

“He basically confessed to like we were in some Korean drama. Do you really not have any opinion of him?”

He thought for a moment, “No. I don’t feel the need in wasting energy in someone that isn’t going to last.”

You pouted, “I like these guys okay? Despite their shortcomings, they’re a good bunch. You might want to get used to seeing them around. They’re going to last.” Your tone wasn’t quite accusatory, but he could tell it could be if he continued. He chose to bend this time, but what your relationship together was the fact that the two of you had never had an argument. One of you always gave in. Minkyu often wondered what would happen if one of you didn’t give in, but each time he told himself he wouldn’t, he’d forget by the time the disagreement had passed.

“Okay, I’ll get used to them,” he had said, no longer paying attention. 

“Good,” you had said. The two of you had sat in silence for a little over an hour after that.

By the time Minkyu had relived the memory, he spotted the blonde boy walking out the restroom, looking a little more down to Earth than he did earlier. Minkyu decided to walk over to him to see if was anything else in his brain other than that one game that you kept insisting that Minkyu tried.

“Yoosung?” he asked when he reached the blonde.

“Yeah?” the blonde said, turning to face him. To say that Minkyu underestimated the boy, would be an insult. Yoosung’s features were definitely boyish but in a charming sort of way. He looked like a kid that would be dragged around by his seniors and would breeze through life with the ‘cute’ title branded on his forehead. 

Minkyu’s smile faltered as he processed, “We met earlier, I’m Minkyu.”

“O-of course,” the boy stammered. “Sorry I was a bit uh…”

“Drunk? Wasted? Hammered?” 

“Y-yeah,” Yoosung’s face reddened.

Minkyu smiled brighter, “Nah, man it’s fine. We all get like that sometimes.” Yoosung simply nodded. “So, is there something you want to tell me?”

Yoosung’s eyes shook and he began to pick at his nails, “Not really…”

“Really?” Minkyu asked, feigning confusion. “I could have sworn that you were after my broad.”

All of the colors drained from Yoosung’s face, “What did you just say?”

Minkyu scoffed, “Are you not trying to get in my fiance’s pants?”

Yoosung stepped a bit closer to Minkyu and despite his head only coming to Minkyu’s chin, the animosity was rolling off of him, “don’t you ever talk about her like that again. I don’t care how important to her you are, I won’t stand for it.”

Minkyu raised an eyebrow, “Fiesty one, aren’t you? Emotional control seems to be something that nearly everyone in the RFA is lacking. Besides, I’ve known that brat longer than you’ve probably been able to go to the bathroom on your own. What could you possibly say to her?”

Minkyu beamed in the boy’s face before lazily shoving his hands in his pockets and walking towards the center of the gala. It wasn’t long before his phone vibrated in the inner pocket. He sighed when he read the caller ID: Boyoung.

He didn’t bother to say anything when he pressed answer and you didn’t wait for him to say hello, “Where are you?”

“In the center.”

“Okay. Have you talked to Jumin and Zen?” you asked, no indication of what you meant in your voice.

“Yeah, only after you left though. They should still be by the bar.”

“They are, I’m with them now. I’m going to spend the night somewhere so you can leave whenever you want.”

“Okay, I’ll head out now then,” Minkyu said before hanging up. He didn’t look back as he walked out of the gala. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've updated the previous chapters a lot so they actually look readable. I also finally figured out how to add gifs so enjoy the adorable little animated husbandos and waifu.


	5. Chapter V: Ignorance is Bliss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Boyoung starts to see the truth

You were hot, almost unbearably so. You had been pulled into the closet less than a minute ago and yet you could feel the beads of sweat already pouring down your back. Seven’s hot breath on your neck didn’t help. Neither did your extreme closeness. Once you could find some oxygen in the unventilated closet you decided to address Seven’s comment.

“What do you mean by ‘killing’ you?” You ask, gasping for oxygen. 

Seven rests his head on your shoulder, “why do you stay with him?”

You furrow your brows, “him?”

“Minkyu.”

You grasp Seven’s shoulders and push him away from you, “because I love him and he loves me.”

Seven gave a sad laugh refusing to look you in the eye, “no he doesn’t.”

Your arms fall from his shoulders, you gape at him, “I don’t understand..of course, he does.”

“No, Boyoung, he doesn’t.” Seven looks at you dead in the eye. He doesn’t look like he was joking either. 

Your eyes narrow into slits, “Why the hell would I trust the opinion of someone who has only known me for 2 weeks?” Venom creeps into your voice as you speak, “And don’t give some bullshit reason, either.”

Seven takes a step back from you as if your words could physically hurt him, “I knew that you were with Minkyu. I knew that it would never be good for me to be in a relationship anyway. So is it so bad that I just wanted to watch you from afar?”

You click your tongue, “You don’t make any sense.”

“Good we both agree on something then,” he says running a hand through his hair. “Just tell me that you are willing to be open to the idea that I’m right.”

“I’ve known you for two weeks Seven. I’ve known Minkyu for over ten years.”

“Okay...then how did Minkyu treat you for the first two weeks of your relationship?” you watch Seven’s jaw clench.

“We never really did the typical relationship things. We never really started dating we just…” you scratch your head, unsure of why you feel the need to justify yourself, “...started dating.”

He sighs crossed his arms, “Fine..who’s idea was it?”

“It wasn’t really any—”

“One of you started introducing the other right? Who did it first?” you feel him getting progressively angrier. You could just leave, but now part of you was curious too.

“Um…” you take a moment to think. Most of your early days with Minkyu had been long blurred or forgotten. The most of your relationship that you could remember was after you had moved in together. “We were visiting his dad…?” you paused and thought a bit harder, “I think it was overseas where his dad is from…” You think for a moment before the memory fully popped into your mind. “That’s right! In America, we went to his dad’s family for Thanksgiving. His family thought he and I were just friends but he kissed me on the cheek before bed one day and the next day his family started calling boyfriend and girlfriend.” You shrug, “it just stuck after that.”

You have never put as much thought into your relationship with Minkyu until now. It didn’t seem normal to have a life where he didn’t exist. What were you even like before…

You turn to the corner of the closet and dry heave. For once you could be grateful to goddamn club soda. After staying hunched over for a few more minutes, you’re able to take in your surroundings again. You had on hand braced against the wall and another holding your stomach. Two more hands were on you. They were rubbing your back and sides, soothing you softly.

“I’m okay, I just,” you gulp, “just..gimme a minute.”

Seven takes his hands off of you reluctantly, “sorry.” His voice is weak and guilty. As if he was at fault for making you feel like this.

You shake your head slowly, “No..it’s not your fault.” Your voice was hoarse and scratchy. You slid down the wall and sit on the floor. Seven sits down beside you, close enough to feel him there, but far away enough that you weren’t touching.

“Boyoung...I’m not asking you to believe me and break up with him today. I’m asking you to hear me and think if your relationship is truly what you want it to be,” he says. You can see him fiddling with his headphone string out of the corner of your eye. “I just want you to be happy. Rather it’s with me…” he brushes your hand lightly, “or someone else.”

You close your eyes and take a deep breath, inhaling the scents of the cleaners and rat poison. “We should get back out there,” you say, not ignoring his point...just putting it on the back burner.

Seven stands first and bent down to help you. His red hair falls a bit between his glasses as gravity shifts around him. The headphone cord dangles in between the two of you, it seemed to disappear in front of your eyes in the dark closet as you stood. He doesn’t let go of your hand and as an experiment, you didn’t let go of his. 

Minkyu’s hand was familiar. It didn’t feel foreign, in fact, it felt like you were holding your own hand sometimes. His hand was the same size as yours and wasn’t overly soft or calloused. Seven’s hand was warm and comforting, there were a few callouses here and there but almost soft everywhere else. You can’t help but wonder if Seven’s hand would feel like Minkyu’s after a while.

The light outside of the closet almost makes you hiss. It seems so much more bright than before. As the two of you walked back towards the party, you can feel Seven’s hand slowly loosen. By the time you had spotted Zen, Seven had already let go.

“Why don’t we get the opinion of someone that actually talked to him?” You suggested before starting to walk, but pausing midstep as you saw who was next to him. “Jumin?”

“I didn’t think oil and water could mix but hey, you gotta get soap somehow,” Seven said, in the most bubbly tone you’ve ever heard. 

You look over at the redhead, bewildered. He smiles at you as if nothing had changed and strut toward the bar. You feel that you should take off whatever mask that he had just put on, but you figure he had a reason and catch up with him as best you can in heels.

Zen was sitting at the bar with a full line of empty beer glasses in front of him. Jumin was leaning against the bar with a bottle of half-drunk liquor in between the two men.

“You two look like hell,” Seven said, pouring a glass of the amber liquid into one of Zen’s empty glasses.

“We are well aware,” Jumin says.

“Is everything okay?” You ask. Zen and Jumin lift their heads to the sound of your voice. Zen clenches his fist and turns his eyes away from you. His white hair is frizzy, most likely from running his hand through it too many times. Jumin doesn’t waste another second before engulfing you in a hug. You thought it was fine at first but after a moment you can feel the amount of emotion he was pouring into you. He leans on to you and breathes you in for a moment before Seven cleared his throat.

“Let me guess: Minkyu went alpha dog on you?” Seven asks. 

Jumin pulls himself off of you and walks back over to the bottle of liquor and poured a shot, “Worse.” He throws the shot back.

“The guy is a prick,” Zen says.

“Not you guys too…” you say. “Look… I get that you guys don’t like him but you have to find a better reason than him not being worried about my every waking moment.”

Zen scoffs, “Babe, there’s a difference between not being controlling and simply not giving a shit.” 

You feel your heart stick a little, “How the hell do you know what I need in a relationship?”

“Boyoung,” Jumin says, his clam voice clearly on the verge of breaking, “the man insulted you to my face.”

You scoff, “he was probably joking or he knew I wouldn’t take it personally.”

“So you’d be okay with him calling you dense?” Jumin starts, “Because I wouldn’t be if…” he cut himself off and put the amber liquid away.

“‘Why do you care?’” Zen quotes. “That’s what he told me when I asked if he loved you. It’s not a hard question to answer, especially for people about to be m-married,” Zen studdered.

You bite the inside of your cheek, “You guys have never been in a relationship as long as we have. There’s a certain way that you act with someone--”

“And that’s not it,” Zen interjects.

“Listen Boyoung,” Jumin starts after taking a deep breath. “We have a bad feeling about him, you don’t have to listen to us. Just ask him what he said to us and we can play the good old ‘he said, she said’ game if you so desire.”

You find yourself reaching for your phone, just wanting so badly to prove them wrong. You know that they had no reason to lie, despite the short time that you’ve known the members of the RFA… they’ve always been upfront with you. Why would they lie about something so important? You know what Seven would have to gain, but Zen and Jumin? There was no benefit to them trying to break-up you and Minkyu. Your mind begins to race and before you can even fully process what you’re doing until the dial tone on the other side of the line.

“Where are you?” you ask.

“In the center.” How had you never flippant he sounded?

“Okay. Have you talked to Jumin and Zen?” All he has to do is explain himself. Just tell you why he’s suddenly acting so different.

“Yeah, only after you left though. They should still be at the bar.” He sounds so cold. So uncaring. You can feel your stomach bubbling again. Could you really just go  home and pretend that nothing happened? Pretend that your trust in him was fractured?

“They are, I’m with them now. I’m going to spend the night somewhere so you can leave whenever you want.” You watch Jumin’s head turn towards you. Zen chokes on the beer that he’s guzzling. Seven’s smile falters.

“Okay, I’ll head out now then.” Just like that, he hangs up on you. 

As you lower the phone from your ear you look at the guys. Yoosung seemed to join in new the end and was able to completely avoid your line of sight. They all stare at you silently asking you one question: where will you go?

“Is everything alright?” Jaehee asks, appearing out of nowhere. 

“That would be a big--” Zen starts.

“Don’t,” you say forcefully with dead eyes.

“Am I missing something?” Jaehee asks.

“Only everything,” Seven says admiring the intricacies of his headphone wire.

Jaehee raises an eyebrow, “Anything I can do then?” 

“How do you feel about having a plus one tonight?” you ask staring her dead in the eye.

She blinks a few times but recovers quickly, “I suppose I can house you for one night since Mr. Han gives me the day off after the party.”

“Thank you,” you say with a light bow that earns an awkward blush from Jaehee. “Would it be alright if we left now?” You ask in the most formal way you can.

“Yeah… I guess we will see you all soon…” she says barely glancing at the guys. 

Suddenly your shoes become the most interesting thing in the universe, forbidding you from taking your eyes off them. You just turn and walk out of the gala bumping into an inordinate amount of people. That’s when it hits you: was joining the RFA the best thing to ever happen to you or the worst?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'm sorry if it sounded weird, I'm trying to keep everything in the present tense which is hard to do with second person (and because I'm really used to writing in past tense then switching whenever if feel like it).


	6. Chapter VI: Truth

You had expected Jaehee’s apartment to be clean but you hadn’t expected it to be immaculate. The only thing that made you think it wasn’t taken straight out of an IKEA showroom were the small things. The tousled throw blanket on the couch, the faint smell of coffee that seemed to linger in the air, not to mention the piles of perfectly stacked papers that rested on the peninsula. 

“I appreciate you letting me stay tonight, Jaehee,” You say bending down to undo your shoes.

“It’s really no problem at all,” she says quickly slipping off her shoes and disappearing down the hallway without giving you any instructions.

Once your shoes are off you decide to follow her. You pass three closed doors and finally stop at the one at the end of the hall. Just as you think about knocking Jaehee opens the door.

“Oh, sorry,” you say, stepping to the side to let her past.

Jaehee adjusts the blankets in her arms, “No it’s fine. Actually, would you mind grabbing a pillow off of my bed?”

You nod and shuffle into the room. You can only assume it’s Jaehee’s bedroom. The room was mostly made up of variations of brown and beige with wood furniture. You grab a light beige pillow off of the double bed and hold it close your chest, suddenly feeling exposed.

You can see Jaehee from the hall setting up the pullout couch for you. You try to hurry down the hall to help her but as soon as you set the pillow down she grabs your wrist.

“Stop,” she says with her eyes filled with concern. “I want you to take a shower and change okay? You can borrow some of my clothes from the left side bottom drawer of my dresser.” You open your mouth to argue but she beats you to it, “Please? To be blunt with you, you look like hell.”

You take a moment and nod softly before going back down the hall and getting a shirt and shorts from the dresser. Jaehee didn’t have a shower in her guest bathroom so you had to use hers. It felt strange. It was probably the first time that you realized how Jaehee smelled. Peppermint shampoo, peppermint body wash, peppermint face wash. You can’t remember the last time you felt this clean. Minkyu was all spice and teakwood. He hated sweet smells. You had always assumed that was why he hated showering with you unless you used his soap, you can’t help but think he had some other reason.

Jaehee’s nightclothes were probably meant to be baggy but they fit you perfectly. You are a couple of inches taller than her and your curves were more pronounced. She was about the size of your sister. You were always taller and you couldn’t help but feel it was your sister’s soft features and stature that attracted people to her. Were you simply Minkyu’s replacement for Bohyun?

You began to grind your teeth as you balled your damp hair into a bun and secured it with an elastic. You gather your dress in your hands as you walk out back into the main room. Jaehee is sitting at the peninsula sipping some coffee that doesn’t seem freshly brewed.

“Any place special I should put my dress?” you ask.

Jaehee turns to you barely moving her lips away from the top of her mug, “I can wash it for you. You can just set it here.”

You set the black clump of fabric on the counter and plop onto the stool next to her. You both sit in silence for a moment while Jaehee finishes her coffee.

“Do the clothes fit okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, thanks for letting me borrow them.”

She hums in agreement before getting up to wash out her mug. “So,” she says reaching for the soap and scrubber, “do you want to talk about why you’re here?”

You nod, “you deserve to know.”

She places the mug in the sink roughly, “No I don’t. This is your business Boyoung, you get to decide on rather or not you want me to know.”

You swallow, “Yeah, I’m okay to tell you.”

You gave Jaehee the basic rundown of everything that Jumin, Zen, Seven, and eventually Yoosung over the phone had told you. How you had chosen not to believe them and how Minkyu’s strange behavior had spoiled your good mood. The more you talked the more ridiculous you felt. The more ridiculous you felt the more you talked. Next thing you knew you were telling her everything.

“Wait..” Jaehee asks, now stuck in thought in front of the sink, “so you meet Minkyu through your sister?”

You nod, “Yeah, Bohyun and Minkyu were dating at the time.”

“So..you’re saying that after your sister died, you started dating her boyfriend?” She started massaging her temples after having her eyebrows knotted for so long.

“As awful as it sounds...yes.” You recline in your seat with a sigh, “look, I’m not proud of it but it just happened. I don’t know how we went from talking about Bohyun every day to moving to sharing a shower, but it just happened.”

Jaehee scoffed and walked a lap around her kitchen before stopping in front of the sink again, “Okay, fine. How does Luciel fit into this again?”

You lean forward in your seat to rest your elbows on the counter, “to be honest, I barely get that myself. Apparently, when Minkyu was hired at C&R the background check was done by Seven so he was thorough. When he was checking into Minkyu’s emergency contacts he came across me. I’m not sure what was so fascinating that made him look so deeply into me but he did”

“So basically,” Jaehee took a deep breath while staring intensely at the sink, “your fiance is a dick, the only guy that seems to care about what happens to you was stalking you, can the resounding opinion from the RFA on Minkyu is that he’s a dick and you shouldn’t marry him.”

“Essentially..” you bite your lip. “I just don’t know what to think, Jaehee. If I believe the guys then I’m throwing ten years of trust out the window and if I stay with Minkyu I could be setting myself up for a marriage built on lies.” You feel the warm tears suddenly pour from your eyes, “what if I was just Bohyun’s replacement? What if Minkyu has never loved me and is only with me because I’m the next best thing to her?”

You don’t bother to try to wipe the fast-flowing tears away. You simply bury your head in your wrists. Your throat is starting to close which is the only thing keeping you from rambling on and on about the spinning cycle of doom that was now your life. You aren’t too sure how log you cried into your arms but when Jaehee speaks again you can feel her breath on your neck.

“It’s going to be okay.” She rubs your arm as she holds you, “worse comes to worst, you will have to stay with me while you get this Minkyu situation sorted out.”

You shake your head which is a lot more difficult with Jaehee’s neck resting on yours, “I couldn’t impose on you like that.”

“Bullshit,” she pulls off of you to look you in the eye, “you shouldn’t be alone during this. Besides, there’s no way I could leave you with him especially since your like this after just talking about it as a possibility.”

You give a small laugh and rest your head in one of Jaehee’s hands that is cradling your temples, “Yeah...the thing is that I wouldn’t be like this if I didn’t think that everyone was right about him…” you give a sad smile before closing your eyes to try to regain whatever composure that you had. 

You know that if you didn’t have this doubt of Minkyu you would never have paid any attention to Seven’s claims and chalked Zen, Jumin, and Yoosung’s interactions with Minkyu as him being socially awkward and being misinterpreted. But you knew that they were right. Maybe not to the point where Minkyu was the scum of the Earth, but you knew that he didn’t care about you nearly as much as you cared about him. How could that even be possible? Whenever you felt overwhelmed he always knew exactly how to take care of you. You had always just assumed that he was the perfect boyfriend when it mattered. 

But...it was the little things. The days that you would forget to tell him that you were at a friend’s house and he wouldn’t question it. The times you would leave the house and he wouldn’t ask where you were going or who you were with. The nights when you’d come home late and he wouldn’t even be home yet. The mornings when the bed was too cold to tell if he had left early or not come home at all.

The sound of your phone’s text tone made your eyes snap open. You immediately turned your head to the couch where you had left your belongings before showering. You feel your nose bump Jaehee’s, by the time you realize that she was a lot closer than before you’re already flying to your phone. You had hoped against all odds that it was Minkyu with a long-winded text message worried out of his mind about you, or that he was asking you to come home, or even just to check to make sure that you got to Jaehee’s alright.

It was the chatroom. Jumin was online.

**Jumin Han:** I trust that Assistant Kang made sure that Boyoung is well taken care of?

**Boyoung has entered the chatroom**

**Boyoung:** Of course, she’s been quite accommodating

You could feel your heart sink as you typed the words into the chat. At least a guy that you’ve known for less than ten percent of the time that you’ve known Minkyu bothered to check in on you.

**Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom**

**Jaehee Kang:** I would never want to make Boyoung uncomfortable Mr. Han. 

You glance over at Jaehee, her phone is in her hands and if she can feel you looking at her, she doesn’t react.

**Jumin Han:** Good. This appears to be a highly stressful situation for Boyoung and we shouldn’t make this more difficult for her.

**Boyoung:** Out of curiosity, what exactly do you mean Jumin?

**Jumin Han:** …

I didn’t think that you would feel comfortable talking about this…

**Boyoung: **I’ve already cried myself out. I feel that you all 

have the right to know what’s been going on.

**Jumin Han:** Alright then…

I would imagine that it would be highly stressful to contemplate the veracity of your engagement

You take a deep breath before writing the next words. You could feel your chest loosen as you typed the words as if finally writing them out made them real.

**Boyoung:** It is. Though I would imagine that it would be 

much more simple if I wasn’t engaged to my dead sister’s fiance.

The chat is dead for a minute. You can feel Jaehee’s eyes on you and just as your eyes settle on her the chat explodes into action.

**Jumin Han has left the chatroom**

**707 has entered the chatroom**

**ZEN has entered the chatroom**

**Yoosung ★ has entered the chatroom**

**Jumin Han has entered the chatroom**

**ZEN: **Trust fund, this better not be some sick joke

**707:** Yes, because of course Jumin is pulling some prank to screw with you

Definitely not because this is Boyoung’s life that we’re talking about

**Yoosung ★: **I’m really confused

Jumin just messaged all of us saying that there was something important???

But…

I don’t understand

**Jaehee Kang:** Mr. Han that was unnecessary

**Jumin Han:** If they didn’t come here now then they would come later only to remind Boyoung of everything

It’s better to bring them now so they can shut up later

**Boyoung: **I suppose that I should come clean then…

I guess I should start with my sister

But before I start, I just wanted to remind you guys that I’m still me okay?

I’ve gotten better and I’m not bad…

Well I don’t think I’m that bad anyway

Please just…

Hear me out

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone give a big thank you to my insomnia for letting me get this out to you guys! Sorry about the semi-cliffhanger, but I promise that what I have planned is worth the wait!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this first chapter! I'm extremely new to this and I don't fully know how everything works yet. Give me some time and practice and I'm sure it will become much easier to read!


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